i had a vision for this picnic as part of my fall bucket list. it included me making some seasonally appropriate yummies, packing up the pup, and heading to battle point park.

we got about halfway there. this week has been pretty busy at work, but i wanted to spend some time together among our other projects scheduled during j’s “weekend”, so we settled for picking up sandwiches from central market. then on the way to the park we encountered some construction. not wanting to wait for the flaggers, j drove us to a different park that was covered in dog poo. so we sat at the picnic tables instead of on the ground.

despite a good chunk of this being contrary to what i had envisioned, i let it unfold. i could have put this off until i had time to make a nicer lunch. i could have insisted we drive to the other park, or waited for slightly nicer weather. the perfectionist in me notes all of these anomalies. but if there’s one thing i’ve learned it’s that the quickest way to ruin an experience is to force it into what you think it should be, rather than appreciating it for what it is.

all in all we enjoyed our food, had some time to talk, saw a new area of the island i had never been to, and tavi loved walking down by the water and finding the biggest stick she could to chew on. call me crazy but i think involving her in more of our “away from home adventures” than previous pups has resulted in a closer bond with this girl. it was lovely and relaxed, and something i think we’re likely to repeat again before winter is upon us in earnest.